Unveiling cryptic diversity: integrative taxonomy discovers eight new species of moths and exposes biodiversity shortfalls in a Neotropical region

The genus Eois Hübner (Geometridae: Larentiinae) is a highly diverse Neotropical lineage comprising 257 valid species, yet it has never been comprehensively revised. Previous studies indicate that wing polymorphism in several nominal taxa hides potential cryptic species, a pattern supported by COI data, host plant preferences, and female genitalia morphology. As a result, the true diversity of Eois is likely underestimated in the Neotropical region. Among some cryptic species complexes, Eois russearia stands out by the characteristic wing pattern with yellow background and reddish bands, and by representing the type species of the genus, however the type specimen is reported to be lost. In this study, we investigate the E. russearia complex and describe eight new species: Eois iemanja sp. nov., Eois nanan sp. nov., Eois ibeji sp. nov., Eois oxumare sp. nov., Eois logunede sp. nov., Eois orumila sp. nov., Eois iroco sp. nov., and Eois stantonae sp. nov., using an integrative taxonomy framework that combines molecular species delimitation, morphology, host plant associations, and geographical distribution. We also discuss how these findings relate to biodiversity shortfalls in hyperdiverse groups and highlight the relevance of cryptic diversity and the taxonomic impediment in documenting Neotropical biodiversity. Hortal, J. et al. Seven shortfalls that beset large-scale knowledge of biodiversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 46, 523–549 (2015). Brehm, G., Bodner, F., Strutzenberger, P., Hünefeld, F. & Fiedler, K. Neotropical Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): C... [8799 chars]